Top Five Reasons Dark Souls Will Eat Skyrim's Face
"With the Strength of Lords, They Challenged the Dragons"
We get it. Everyone loves Skyrim. We do too.
But there's another RPG experience that will steamroll into stores in a few weeks, one that just might change the industry and the way we look at our favorite pastime. Skyrim's getting all the attention, it will probably grab most of the sales, but there's one game that has it beat in all kinds of areas. We're talking about
[B]Dark Souls.
Here are five reasons why Dark Souls will save gaming, and eat Skyrim's face in the process.
1) ONLINE MULTIPLAYER:
SKYRIM
Skyrim will have no online multiplayer component of any kind, despite years' worth of fan requests.
Bethesda's Todd Howard said of multiplayer: "The two most requested features we get are dragons and multiplayer. We got one of them this time," he said to
IGN. "We always look into multiplayer, put lots of ideas on the whiteboard and it always loses. It's not that we don't like it. I can think of ways it would be a lot of fun. At the end of the day, that dev time is going to take away from doing the best single-player game we can, and that's where our hearts are."
That means no online, no co-op, no PVP. None.
DARK SOULS
Dark Souls spiritual predecessor Demon's Souls was heralded as one of the most challenging and epic action-RPG's on PS3. IGN awarded Demon's Souls PS3 RPG of the year in 2009, and other outlets even awarded it their overall Game of the Year in 2009. It had multiplayer aspects over two years ago that rivaled any in the industry, much less its specific genre, all without compromising the singleplayer game.
Why have competitors not taken note?
From Software has TRULY innovated where competitors like Bethesda have stated they simply couldn't find or spare the dev time.
We've been playing the game and
[B]verified the following multiplayer info with From Software. There's no doubt, as IGN's Keza McDonald says, that multiplayer in this game is "one of the more compelling...features of Dark Souls". From Software has innovated while others have passed on making the effort.
WINNER: DARK SOULS - Developers have clearly not reached their creative zenith when it comes to the conception and execution of multiplayer components in games. We're certainly not suggesting Bethesda tack on after-thought multiplayer content, ala Dead Space 2 or BioShock 2, but to explore the possibilities for multiplay and innovate, especially considering they've been working on the game for more than 5 years now. Bethesda either didn't deem it important enough, didn't care to make time for it or didn't have the imagination to bring something on this scale to life.
2) DLC AND PRICING:
SKYRIM
Bethesda announced DLC plans FAR in advance of the game's actual launch, going as far to herald the signing of an
[B]exclusive deal with Microsoft. Expanded content would be 360 exclusive, leaving PS3 owners to wait.
Standard Edition of the game will cost $59.99. Collector's Edition will run players $149.99 for a small statue, artbook, map, and 'making-of' DVD. There are pre-order offers available including goodies like a special map.
Average DLC packages run $10-15 apiece, plus weapons and armor for a few bucks more. For reference, there have been four pieces of Fallout: New Vegas DLC.
DARK SOULS
From Software
[B]announced at Gamescom that no current plans for DLC exist.
Daisuke Uchiyama, Chief Publishing Producer,
Namco Bandai[/COLOR] Games Inc., (NBGI),
recently went on record with this statement: "
...we are not planning any DLC for Dark Souls. The game is deeply balanced with its exquisite enemy placements and map designs...I would rather prefer to provide an equal amount of opportunities to everyone in order to strive and achieve getting all items based on the effort a player makes."
Collector's Edition of Dark Souls cost $59.99 - the normal asking price for any regular edition of a game - at launch to all who preorder at any retailer, which will net you a limited edition collector's tin, a limited edition hardcover artbook, plus a digital download token for the digital soundtrack of the game, digital mini-strategy guide, and digital behind the scenes making of videos.
WINNER: DARK SOULS - Dark Souls will ship feature-complete, harkening back to the days when buying one product in a box meant a final sale. Skyrim fans can expect to wait months or more for the 'final' feature complete version, aka the 'Ultimate Edition' that will cost less than buying the game at launch and all the DLC/expanded content put together.
3) EPIC SCOPE:
SKYRIM
Oblivion boasted one of the largest landmasses in console gaming, yet it received criticism for having 'too much filler space'.
The developers have been asked how much larger Skyrim would be over Oblivion, and Todd Howard
this to say:
"…Actual landmass is about the size of Oblivion…. To us it feels a lot bigger because of the mountains."
Oblivion took place in Cyrodiil, a division of land within the continent of Tamriel, where all Elder Scrolls games are set. You could not explore all of Tamriel in Oblivion; Skyrim takes place in another division of land within Tamriel. The explorable areas in Tamriel were indeed giant in scope and size, and many of us here at IGN lost 100+ hours within its borders all told, especially counting the Shivering Isles expansion.
The world of Skyrim coming in at the same size seems like another way of saying expect more giant stretches of no-man's land, which was a big complaint about Oblivion's map. Granted, you can fast travel once you discover areas, but doesn't that quietly designate a tremendous amount of space as filler from the outset?
DARK SOULS
One reason why
Dark Souls is truly more of a spiritual successor to Demon's Souls than a direct sequel is that the structure has seen a fundamental change. Dark Souls is now an open experience structured unlike anything else seen on modern consoles.
Commenting on the scale of the game, Producer Kei Horono calls it a
"..seamlessly connected world. If you can see an area in the distance then you can go there. This world is about three to four times as big as the world in Demon's Souls. There's also double the amount of accessories and weapons in this game."
Demon's Souls consisted or enormous levels sectioned off into pieces. 1-1,1-2, etc. When players died at any point, even at the end of a level, they were cast back to the beginning. Once beating levels, they were sent to a NEXUS to choose different chunks of the world of Boletaria to explore.
Dark Souls is different… players will explore Lordran, a massive and deadly labyrinth of secrets, traps, enemies, and godlike bosses, many of which are unique and all placed within the world with the careful calculation of a development team. Less repeating enemy mobs who gradually get upgraded from Black Knight to Super Black Knight to CRAZY KILLA BLACK KNIGHT, and more distinct enemies and areas to explore, and yes, die in.
The design and layout of the game, while still open ended and open world, has much more in common with Japanese games like Metroid and Castlevania, where multiple paths and directions are possible, and shortcuts open up upon completion.
WINNER: DARK SOULS - From Software has truly one-upped its predecessor in terms of scope where its competition hasn't really upped the ante, by their own admission. Dark Souls fills your time with combat and highly-varied exploration, while Skyrim will likely heap on TONS of fetchy and to-and-fro quests (if we learned anything from Oblivion), lengthy conversation trees and other expositional content.
4) TIGHT Combat and TRUE Challenge:
SKYRIM
Oblivion received ample criticism for loose combat mechanics that lacked a visceral feel.
Things like indistinguishable distances between the player, the enemy and the strike zone of a sword, the swinging animations, as well as the 'loose' feeling of the player seen in third person bore the weight of player and critic complaints.
According to recent hands-on impressions, Bethesda has seemingly made many improvements to the play control and combat. Will it be enough? Judging by the time I spent with it at PAX this year, Skyrim combat does feel improved but very similar to Oblivion.
Set aside combat for a moment, the game structure of Bethesda's RPGs typically handhold players, clearly outlining what to do next in objective windows and mission paths. Boxes are checked and unchecked on what to accomplish, etc.
DARK SOULS
Dark Souls' combat system boasts one of the highest pedigrees in gaming. Each and every button press is a precise and calculated action that the player must unflinchingly command at their will. The action is intense, and constant. You cannot pause the game, and players exploring with their shield down are destined for certain doom.
From Software has created one of-if not the-most hardcore action RPG experiences on modern consoles. PS3 owners had a taste of this with Demon's Souls, but 360 owners have yet to experience any such pain and reward in a video game.
An entire generation of gamers raised on Halo and Call of Duty has never trudged through an epic journey like this, something on the scale of intricacy and difficulty of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Dark Souls is Zelda, all grown up, evil. From Software is effectively making the first truly modern advancement in classic hardcore gaming, following closely on the hardcoreness of Demon's Souls. The developers have created one of the final bastions of classic action adventure in an industry dominated by short campaigns that play themselves and offer easy rewards.
Dark Souls features no hand-holding. Every failure that occurs isn't because Dark Souls is cheap; it's strictly on the player. The developers think of the game as a strict sensei, teaching you very firmly with quiet discipline, teaching you how to play—and overcome—according to the rules of the game.
WINNER: DARK SOULS - Challenging players, and believing in their tenacity and gaming prowess, is an increasingly forgotten art, and one that's an absolutely crucial aspect of games that simply doesn't exist in the modern market. Dark Souls is bucking the trend and BOLDLY daring to be different. The gaming industry will change because of this pure and simple fact. Just watch.
5) DRAGONS!:
SKYRIM
Noted earlier, Todd Howard explained that fans had two demands. Multiplayer and dragons. While they did not deliver on any innovations in multiplayer or online, dragons have become a core component of the world of Skyrim.
Players control the 'dragonborn', and must seek out and slay various dragons in the world of Skyrim. Dragon design is relatively medieval in inspiration, as seen in films like Dragonheart and Reign of Fire.
Some fans are praising the game, simply because it has Dragons.
Have they seen
Dark Souls?
DARK SOULS
Dragons played a role in Demon's Souls, but From Software has reached deep into their imagination to create mythical beasts unlike any before seen in an action epic.
[B](See Demon's Souls DRAGON GOD)
Fans who have been watching the release of the pieces of the Dark Souls Prologue video have recently discovered that DRAGONS actually play a very important role in the genesis of Lordran and the cursed land of the undead. The undead lords who rose from the dead had to cast out the dragons who ruled the world in an epic battle, with one of their own, Seathe, a Crystal Dragon, betraying his own kind to gain an unimaginable power.
Other dragons, like the headless bone dragon and the massive, red, fire-breathing behemoth seen at E3 are also a big part of the world that From Software has created. Fans have even spotted a dragon that appears to have had its hide burned off with acid. UNDEAD DRAGONS!?!
WINNER: DARK SOULS - Skyrim has dragons, but Dark Souls has crazy ass, insane dragons that come with the inherent challenge of the Dark Souls experience.
THE WINNER:
DARK SOULS
Think back across this generation of consoles; you've never played a game like Dark Souls. Even Demon's Souls can't match what the guys at From Software have conjured and are ready to unleash upon the world in a mere matter of days.
Dark Souls will ship complete with no need for DLC, its scope rivals the largest in-game worlds on the market, it boasts arguably the tightest, most intricate combat system and most daring difficulty levels, and yes, Dark Souls has DRAGONS.
There's your bag of chips. What more do you want?
What? You don't agree? Let's hear your arguments. This way to the Comments...
Dark Souls
Riferimento: [PS360]Dark Souls
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Originariamente Scritto da Ronove
Mi pare normale discutere su un aspetto del gioco, mi sembra di aver sottolineato più e più volte che è una mia idea, e ciò rimane.
